Volunteering at orphanage .. Rural Kilimanjaro June 2010
 

I am planning to volunteer at an orphnage on the southern slope of Kilimanjaro June 2010. The orphanage is located in the small village of Lasso Kirua Vunjo. I will be going for 3 weeks .. planning to volunteer about 2 weeks and safari the rest of the time.
I would appreciate any information that you might have about this area. Thank You

I'm going to be doing a cultural trip in the Moshi area in a few days -- if you refresh this thread around 6/20 when I'll be back online, I may have some info.

ann
That would be great -- it is not far from Moshi .. a rather small village I believe. We will be going to Moshi once or twice a week for shopping. So glad you responded .. will be so grateful for any info. Thanks

One thing that really surprised me was how cold it was when we visited villages even a short distant from Moshi (but higher elevation). I was jealous of the children's hats and jackets. I'm not sure what the actual temperature was, but in July you could see your breath (at least in the morning). It sounds as if you will be at a similar elevation.

If you have the time/transportation to venture into Moshi, it is good to learn where the Barclay's bank is, as it is both a landmark and a place to attempt using an ATM (I didn't end up bothering, as the lines were very long).

Just for the experience of it, it is amusing to eat at the Indo-Italiano restaurant, if you can even imagine eating Indian/Italian food in the middle of Africa. (I ordered chicken cooked Tanzania style, because my NY sensibilities could not quite imagine what African/Indian/Italian pizza would be like.). Others in my group really liked the Taj Mahal, mainly because it was quite cheap. Of course, the name is total wishful thinking.

The people in the region were the most generous people I've ever met. I was with a church group, so we of course visited many churches, and each time we were welcomed and accepted to an amazing degree. They served us both breakfast (hard boiled eggs and peanuts and tea) and lunch (rice, meat stew and soda). It made me realize how sparse our hospitality is at home! We offer visitors coffe and cookies, but we certainly don't cook them breakfast and lunch!

They enjoyed my attempts at complimenting the meal in Swahili, but they really really appreciated hearing us trying to sing along in Chaga.

find me in moshi if you arrive, i can guide you my friend. email [email protected]